When you are planning to sell your home, decluttering is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to prepare it. Normally, you can do this process without the need of professional help, all you need is time and of course a lot of effort.
A little clutter is normal. But a small clutter that’s ignored again and again can grow into a huge, uncontrollable mess. Mess can cause stress, and the obvious remedy to this is to free your home from clutter. To some, the whole process can seem so overpowering, so we have rounded up some easy ways to declutter your home:
1. Start small. If the thought of decluttering an entire house seems too overwhelming, don’t be afraid to start small. Try to break it down into 5-minute tasks. You can do 5-minutes in the morning and another 5 in the afternoon or if you are too busy, you can even do 5 minutes every day. There’s no judgment here! Do whatever works for you!
2. Donate the clothes that you have not worn for years. If you are still holding on to clothes that you’ve worn 8 years ago, but won’t be able to wear them again, it’s time to let them go. It’s a lot better to give them to charity than to let them gather dust in your closet.
3. Throw the expired products away. Go over your pantry, cupboard, or even bathroom and do a little inventory. All expired items should go in the trash. This includes beauty products, medicine, canned food, etc.
4. Create a sorting system. Have one box for each of the four categories: keep, donate, throw, store. As you declutter each section of your home, use the same sorting system to make the process easier.
5. Make sure every item has a “home.” Shelves are for books. The pantry is for food. The closet is for your clothes. These and a lot of other items have obvious “homes,” but other items don’t. Batteries? Cables? Remember that even the smallest and most random items in your home should have their own storage space. This way, it will be easy to find them when you need them and you avoid clutter by making sure they’re not just sitting on a counter space or table.
6. Label your storage. Labeling your storage boxes not only allows you to easily find the items that you’re looking for, it also helps you organize your stuff better. For instance, if a box is labeled “sweaters,” make sure it does not contain unrelated items such as pens or kitchen items.
7. Organize your mail right when you receive it. Don’t wait until you have a pile of 20 unopened envelopes. Upon receipt, categorize your mail and immediately get rid of the unimportant ones.
8. Talk to your family or roommates. This may be a challenge for some, but encouraging the people you live with to participate or cooperate with your decluttering plan will make it easier for everyone. It will reduce your stress and will make it easier for you to maintain your home clutter-free going forward.
9. Fix broken things. Some of us hold on to broken items that we have been planning to fix for several months already. Go through these items and have them repaired. If you don’t have plans to repair them, throw them away, or put them in the recycling bin if appropriate. Just be sure to not let them occupy a space in your home without serving a purpose.
10. Consider borrowing or reusing, instead of buying a new one. Shopping feels good. There’s no doubt about that. This is why many of us acquire things that we don’t need. Before you purchase an item, ask yourself first if you really need it. Can you reuse an old item that will serve the same purpose? Can you borrow the same from a friend or a relative? This will help you avoid bringing in more items into your home. The more stuff you have, the harder it will be to declutter.
Remember that decluttering does not happen overnight. It can take three days, a week, three weeks, or even a month. And, you don’t really need to wait until you decide to sell your home before you can start decluttering. Whether you are planning to sell your home or not, we could all use some decluttering every now and then.
If you’re planning to sell your home in a rush and don’t have the time to declutter your home for showings, talk to one of our expert real estate professionals about selling your home for cash! Call us at 800-976-SOLD now!